Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
Following an agreement in 1976 (known as the Tripoli Agreement) between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Philippine government during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, autonomous Muslim governments were set up in Regions IX (Western Mindanao and Sulu) and XII (Central Mindanao). But the autonomy arrangements were never accepted by the MNLF or by the majority of Philippine Muslims. After the People Power Revolution of 1986, a new constitution made specific provision for an Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and a Regional Consultative Commission was appointed to draft the terms of the ARMM. These were eventually set out in Republic Act 6734 of August 1989.
Following the Tripoli Agreement, the scope of the ARMM was defined as the thirteen provinces and nine cities of Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan claimed by the MNLF as traditional Muslim territory. But following a plebiscite in 1989, which was again boycotted by a large number of Philippine Muslims and by the MNLF, only four provinces and no cities voted to join. In 1996 MNLF chairman Nur Misuari returned to the Philippines and became governor of the ARMM. Under the terms of a 1996 peace agreement between the MNLF and the Philippine government, new legislation for an expanded ARMM was to be drafted and submitted to a plebiscite; the mandated plebiscite, however, had still not been held by mid-2001. Meanwhile, there were complaints that the ARMM was underfunded and that its effectiveness had been undermined by inefficiency, nepotism, and favoritism toward MNLF supporters.
The plebiscite was eventually held in August 2001. Predictably, given the present demography of Mindanao, the proposed expansion of the ARMM to include the (now) fifteen provinces and fourteen cities covered by the Tripoli Agreement was supported in the four provinces of the existing ARMM (Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi) plus the province of Basilan and the city of Marawi but was rejected in all other provinces and cities. This outcome disappointed Muslim autonomy supporters and further undermined the position of Governor Misuari, who subsequently abandoned his office and launched an armed assault on national government forces. Misuari was arrested in Malaysia. In his absence, the national government–supported candidate, Parouk Hussin, was returned as governor in scheduled ARMM elections in November 2001.
Further Reading
May, Ronald J. (2001) "Muslim Mindanao: Four Years after the Peace Agreement." In Southeast Asian Affairs 2001. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 263–275.
Stankovitch, Mara, ed. (1999) "Compromising on Autonomy: Mindanao in Transition." Accord 6 (April).
Vitug, Marites, and Glenda M.Gloria. (2000) Under the Crescent Moon: Rebellion in Mindanao. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo Center for Social Policy and Public Affairs, and Institute for Popular Democracy.
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